Birds of Paradise Theatre Company

Scotland's touring theatre company promoting disabled artists and supporting the arts sector

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Three people, two women and a man, sit at a long dinner table that is covered with a red and white checked table cloth. They each have a white bowl in front of them. The woman in the middle is lifting a spoon to her face which has a wide grin on it. She has short bright pink hair and appears to be in her late 40s. To the right there is a younger woman in a blue shirt who appears to be talking, a man on the other side appears to be listening to her as he leans forwards.

Productions ►  

The Tin Soldier

Birds of Paradise’s first Christmas show was a magical tale of derring do, devotion and never giving up

Hans Christian Andersen’s first ever children’s story is about two people who find each other in a rough tough world – although, like winter, nothing lasts forever.

An adaptation by acclaimed writer of young person’s theatre Mike Kenny (The Railway Children), with award-winning Russian puppet designer Victor Nikonenko. Directed by Garry Robson with performances from Robert Gale, Caroline Parker, Joe Brown and original music and live performances from Novasound – the writing partnership of award-winning songwriter Lauren Gilmour and critically acclaimed music producer Audrey Tait. 

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Directed by Garry Robson
Written by Mike Kenny

In association with Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

The Studio, Edinburgh Festival Theatre
7th – 23rd December 2017

The Team

Robert Softley Gale – Jack
Lauren Gilmour – Soldier
Caroline Parker – Dancer
Joseph Brown – Kipper
Audrey Tait – Sticks
Mike Kenny – Writer
Garry Robson – Director
Victor Nikonenko – Designer
Novasound – Composition
Grant Anderson – Lighting Designer
Natalie MacDonald – Director of British Sign Language Interpretation
Iain Halket – Set & Props Construction
Alison Monaghan – Puppet Maker
Mairi Taylor – Executive Producer
Michelle Rolfe – Producer
Mickey Graham – Production Manager
Rosie Ward – Stage Manager
Cara Ballingall – Assistant to the Director with special responsibility for access
Jonny Reed – Technical Manager
Andy Reid – AV Operator
Shamil Khairov – Lead Russian Interpreter in Scotland
Judith Fagelson – Russian Interpretation
Ciaran Traynor – Russian Interpretation
Amy Cheskin – BSL Interpretation
Catherine King – BSL Interpretation
Melissa Morbey – BSL Interpretation

BOP Thanks
Pete Sparkes and Drake Music Scotland for advice and generous use of their Soundbeam | Everyone who supported us at development stages | Cerin Richardson | Brian Loudon and everyone at Festival Theatre, Edinburgh | North Edinburgh Arts | Grid Iron | Dan Travis | Lyceum Theatre | The Cycle Service | Craig McArthur for tactile set | All our Young Advisors, their parents and big people | Aine Murphy and Royal Blind School, Edinburgh | Mhairi Quinn and St Roch’s School, Glasgow | BOP Youth Arts Consultant Amy McAinsh | Socha Spencer and Alice Comiskey for What’s it Like to be Disabled? | Mary Bailes

Access

Captioning of all script, sound effects and song lyrics.

Getting to the Venue

This PDF explained how to get to The Tin Soldier

Audiences could also watch this video for a visual walk through of the way into The Studio, starting from the corner of Potterrow and Marshall Street facing north.

Audio Description is available online before coming to the show. Our Access Coordinator will meet you at the venue to describe the set and characters and introduce you to a handling version of the set. During the show description is built into the script. Anyone requiring audio description should arrive 30 mins ahead of performance.

Audio Description: Online Resources

Audio description of the set and each of the characters:

Transcription of audio description

British Sign Language is used throughout the show. One character is Deaf and signs throughout and all other characters use sign language during the show

BSL: Online Resources – The Tin Soldier: Plain Text Synopsis

Relaxed performances are marked below. At these the cast will take time to introduce themselves aspects of the show will be softened so there are no harsh sound or lighting variations and we will provide visual synopsis and autism packs that include fidget toys.

Relaxed: Online Resources – The Tin Soldier: Plain Text Synopsis

Dates

7th – 23rd December 2017
The Studio, Edinburgh Festival Theatre
The Studio

Reviews

“BSL signing and captions ensure everyone can follow the narrative, the performances are, like the music, full of an engaging warmth and humour while the final image of transformation is simply beautiful.”
The Herald
“Every performance of a BOP show has audio description, BSL and subtitles as standard. These aides are used to enhance the show for everyone rather than distract from it and it once again begs the question- why isn’t every theatre company doing this?”
Broadway World
“Together they all do two very important things: tell a good story well, and show audiences that there is no invisible line between disabled and non-disabled performers – they’re all just performers.”
The List
“The collection of live music, intermittent puppetry, and clever staging (including some excellent use of helium balloons) make for great variety. On top of that, the show is captioned, and the whole cast integrates British Sign Language into their movement. It feels less like an added bonus and more like an extra layer of depth to the storytelling, well as providing some great comic moments.”
The Fountain

Audience Feedback

“Absolutely loved it. Really magical show and it was so impressive how beautiful the BSL and captioning was integrated into the show. Fantastically talented cast too!”
“Beautiful, magical and very moving! Captivated the children and excellent non-threatening audience participation. I would love to see more of your productions”
“I loved it! It was so good! It was amazing for disabled people!”
“Good to have everyone included and very very good. Please do some more.”

Photos, Videos & Music

A small soldier figurine sits in a white paper boat. He is in a green regency style soldier uniform with a red cross at the front. He has a curly mustache and appears to have one leg missing.
A photo of a middle aged man with sparse curly dark hair. He is wearing a light blue hoodie and has his arms raised in the air. In the background there is a collection of cardboard boxes and the toy soldier sat in his paper boat.
A table is lit up white, four people, two men and two women are gathered around it. On the table there is a white paper boat. One of the men is holding up a toy soldier in the boat. At the end of the table, a young woman is crouched down with a brown puppet of a scraggly looking rat. In the middle of them there is a middle aged woman with pink hair who appears to be signing.
In the foreground there are two small white podiums. One has a toy soldier in a green regency soldier uniform with a blue hat. The soldier is missing one leg. On the other podium there is a toy ballerina stretching out one leg behind her. Behind the toys, there is a man and a woman standing. The man appears to be in his early 40s, he is wearing a blue hoodie and appears to be in the middle of talking. The woman, who appears to be middle aged with pink hair, is standing and looking at the man.
Three people, two women and a man, sit at a long dinner table that is covered with a red and white checked table cloth. They each have a white bowl in front of them. The woman in the middle is lifting a spoon to her face which has a wide grin on it. She has short bright pink hair and appears to be in her late 40s. To the right there is a younger woman in a blue shirt who appears to be talking, a man on the other side appears to be listening to her as he leans forwards.
A young woman in a red checkered shirt stands playing guitar. In front of her there is a small drum, and next to that is a metal frame that has cooking pots and empty bottles hanging from it.
A man and a woman kneel either side of a white podium. They are both holding either side of a toy soldier in a green regency style soldier uniform.Their other hands are touching each other on the podium. The young woman has long dark hair and is wearing a blue top. The man has short brown hair and stubble, he is wearing a blue hoodie.
A man and a woman stand behind a bright white table with a toy soldier and a toy ballerina on it. The woman has very short hair, she appears to be in her late 40s and she is holding one of her hands over her heart. The man appears to be in his 30s, he is wearing a blue hoodie and looking off to the side at something out of frame.
A group of people gather and lean in to listen to a woman talk. She appears to be in her early 30s and has dark hair. She has one of her arms leant on a man's shoulder, the other four people appear to be listening intently . They are all in modern dress, one of the men appears to be holding a large book and one of the women is holding drum sticks.
A man sits behind a large metal frame that has various things suspended from it with wires. There are pots, pans, glass bottles and buckets. The man's eyes and mouth are wide open. He is holding a drumstick in each hand and has his arms thrown back as if about to starts hitting the items. Behind him there appears to be a woman playing guitar.
Four people, two men and two women are gathered around a rusty barrel that appears to have a fire in it. One of the men is holding his hands above it, as if to warm them. The others appear to be conversing. One woman is holding her arms out in a shrug, while the other woman is reaching out her arm and shaking a finger, as if in disapproval.
A man leans over a cardboard box that he has sat a puppet on, The puppet is of a small boy, he is sat upright and is looking out. He has large blue eyes, messy hair and appears to be wearing a blue tracksuit.
In this scene, the background is set with a large glass window with star shaped balloons around it. In front of this there is a wall of cardboard boxes and in front of them there are two large wooden tables. On one of the tables, the toy soldier is stood. Two women and a man are stood spread out behind the tables. The man is leaning with both hands on the table in front of him. The woman in the middle is pointing to herself while looking to the other woman who is throwing her arms up at her sides. A man in a wheelchair moves in front of the tables with a big grin on his face which is covered in chocolate.
A woman places a cardboard box on a man in a wheelchairs head. He has his arms out wide and his tongue is stuck out. He is appears to be in his 30s and is wearing a blue jumper and blue trousers.
Four people, two women and two men are gathered around a table, the stage is washed a mysterious blue. On the table there is a glass jug and a glass bowl. One of the men is standing over the glass bowl with something in his hands. The others are looking on in amazement.
Scene from The Tin Soldier. 4 Actors are in a line, the are all in funny poses as the photo has been taken as they are dancing. The lighting is purple and pink. There is smoke from a smoke machine and lots of cardboard boxes behind them, from the set of the play.
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Development & Schools Work

“It was great for the children to experience the processes of making a production. They look forward to seeing its development.”

Over 2017 BOP are working to explore how we apply Creative Access within a children’s show. This is creating lots of exciting possibilities and we will be working with young people as well as schools and other arts companies throughout 2017.

At the end of some development days in January we invited a small audience of young people to see excerpts of the work in development. These young people are our Young Advisers and they will be invited back during rehearsals to test out the work with us.

“Mabel liked how you got everyone involved. Morris liked the educational sign language element. Morris liked how the music fits with the story.”

The Tin Soldier – Fri 20 January 2017 – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh (photographer – Andy Catlin)

“They are desperate to see the full show”

Throughout 2017 we worked with St Roch’s School Glasgow and The Royal Blind School Edinburgh. We made visits to them and when possible they have come to us. This allowed us to talk about careers in the arts and to talk about how we are developing the access elements of the show.

Finally, a broadcast version of the show was available to schools.
BOP Theatre | The Tin Soldier in Schools FAQs
Tin Soldier Schools info sheet
The Tin Soldier – Jan 2017 – Development Evaluation.docx